The NFU has brought into question the department’s transparency and its ability to deliver the agricultural transition promised following the news today (Tuesday 11 March).
Defra has said the SFI24 budget has been allocated, and that it has therefore reached its completion. Outstanding eligible applications that have been submitted will still be taken forward.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said the news was “another shattering blow to English farms delivered, yet again, with no warning, no understand of the industry and a complete lack of compassion or care”.
“The fact that ministers are actually trumpeting this as good news shows how desperately detached they are from the reality on the ground and how little they understand this industry.”
NFU President Tom Bradshaw
He added: “We have had major concerns for years about whether there was the capability within Defra to deliver the agricultural transition post-Brexit.
“We have warned time and time again that large parts of the SFI were poorly designed and that the department was consistently failing to deliver it.”
No consultation or communication
Tom expressed his frustration that the “terrible news” was delivered with only 30 minutes warning before ministers briefed the press, “leaving us unable to inform our members”.
“There has been no consultation, no communication; there has been a total lack of the ‘partnership and co-design’ Defra loves to talk about.
“It is another example of the growing disregard for agriculture within the department.
“The fact that ministers are actually trumpeting this as good news shows how desperately detached they are from the reality on the ground and how little they understand this industry.”
“If confidence was at rock bottom and investment through the floor yesterday, tomorrow it will be gone entirely.”
NFU President Tom Bradshaw
Defra has said there will be a “reset”, adding that ELMs will remain in place, including SFI, with a “new and improved SFI on offer with details to follow in the Spending Review”.
All existing SFI agreement holders will continue to be paid under the terms of their agreement for its duration. Those who entered into a three-year SFI agreement earlier this year will be paid until 2028.
If you are in the SFI pilot, you will be able to apply when the pilot agreement ends. Defra has said if you were in the agreement and your pilot has ended already, but you do not yet have a live SFI agreement, you will be able to apply.
A loss to farming and the environment
Tom added: “It leaves us with little choice but to see Defra as a failing department. The chaos has got worse and worse and farmers are paying the price. Bad decisions, misdirection, promises broken, no transparency and yet more financial disaster for farming.
“When the Chancellor dramatically accelerated the end of the old schemes for all farmers, it was on the promise that they would all be able to access the new ones, which paid them for doing environmental work.
“But the door has now been slammed shut for thousands of farmers, creating haves and have nots based purely on timing.
“They say the money is spent, but because Defra refuses to be transparent we don’t know where it’s been spent, or whether it’s all been spent within this year.
“The awful dilemma now faced by many farmers is whether to turn their backs on environmental work and just farm as hard as they can to survive. This is a loss to both farming and the environment and cannot be what was intended.
“It is a bleak irony that we were set to reveal tomorrow that farming confidence in England and Wales has plummeted to its lowest level ever – lower than last year when those who are now Defra Ministers said it was a scandal and a disaster.”
The NFU’s annual Farmer Confidence Survey reveals that:
- Short-term confidence (1 year outlook) has decreased 10 points since last year from -25 to -35.
- Mid-term confidence (3 year outlook) has decreased 16 points from -22 to -38.
- Mid-term confidence has remained in negative territory for eight years but has deteriorated sharply over the past two years.
“If confidence was at rock bottom and investment through the floor yesterday, tomorrow it will be gone entirely,” Tom concluded.
